Magazine

Jumia Technologies has listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), becoming the first African startup to list on a major global exchange.

Shares in the e-commerce company, dubbed ‘the Amazon of Africa’, began trading at an opening price of US$18.95 under the ticker JMIA, but by close of market on Monday, shares had rocketed by 68% to $31.91.

Sacha Poignonnec and Jeremy Hodara, co-founders and co-chief executives of Jumia, said: “[The listing] has been made possible thanks to the hard work of our teams, the trust of our consumers, as well as the commitment of our sellers and partners.”

“All stakeholders deserve credit for this milestone, and we are just at the beginning of a long and great journey.

“We are going to continue to focus on our mission and to work even harder to help consumers, sellers, partners and all stakeholders benefit from this technological revolution.”

Jumia currently operates in 14 African countries and boasts around 81,000 active sellers transacting with millions of consumers online.

In 2016, Jumia’s parent company, Africa Internet Group, became the first African startup unicorn when it hit a $1 billion valuation after receiving funding from Goldman Sachs, AXA Insurance and others.

In March, Jumia also inked a strategic partnership with Mastercard to develop its e-commerce operations.